New Mexico State University’s College of Health, Education and Social Transformation hosted its first Learn-A-Palooza event at Preciado Park on Saturday, March 2, designed to get students of all ages involved and informed about higher education. The event was multidisciplinary, including partnerships with the STEM Outreach Center, the Provost’s Office, the NMSU Library, Stem Connection in the College of Engineering’s Office of Outreach and Recruitment, the College of Arts and Sciences, and Doña Ana Community College.
The event was organized like a block party, as different organizations set up booths with games and prizes. Over 650 students were bussed out to the event from local schools and local families poured in too. The event also offered free catered food from food trucks, and a DJ who kept things lively with music.
The decision to include different departments across NMSU helped highlight that NMSU has options for any students to pursue a career in their particular area of interest.
The STEM Outreach Program Director Wanda Tamez focused on how events like Learn-A-Palooza can bridge the gap between high school and higher education through showcasing opportunities provided by the programs and departments in attendance.
“We don’t want them to be a senior in high school and not know about them,” she said. “We want them to be ready to jump out of their senior year and to go into the next grand adventure.”
Students from Riverside Elementary School spoke about their three favorite activities they got to experience at the event.
“Our favorites were the learning theater 3D pens, and the free food,” they said. “We love free food.”
STEM Outreach Specialist Erika Acosta noted the purpose of the event and how it ties the community together.
“Our focus has been on families seeing NMSU as part of their community,” she said. “The idea was: make it free, make it fun, make it big. And here we are.”
The event is a spiritual successor to the STEM Fest, which was first held back in 2015 and stopped after 2019 due to the pandemic. All the activities for the previous event were held exclusively in O’Donnell Hall.
STEM Outreach Program Coordinator Jessica Muñoz discussed how much the event has developed since then.
“As you can tell from today, it has just exploded into something absolutely wonderful,” she said.
